Automobile.



E. E. HOWELL.

AUTOMOBILE. v APPLICATION FILED AUG-I9, I914 I 1,1713%, I Patented Feb 15,1916,

WITNES ES; 0 I

Lg [allay Egg?- 35 1 for maintaining the adjustable back of the EFICE nnrrnnn-rn n. nownnn; or DENVER, COLORADO.

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Specification of Letters Patent. 7

Application filed August 13,1914. Seria1No.857,5 79. v I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIZABETH E. How.

.ELL, a citizen of the United States, residing .at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Auto1nobiles, of which the following 1s a specification.

My'invention relates to improvements in My invention is designed to provideeithe'r a single or a double couch without. anyalteration in the construction or position of the parts of the automobile, other than-an ad' justment of the back of its frontseat, 3 it thus adapts the Vehicle for' use as a bed Q during'extensive journeys, or as an ambulance in case .of accident or sudden illness. An embodiment of my invention is illus trated in the accompanying drawings in the;

various views of which like parts are simr larly designated, and in which,

Figure l is a plan view of an automobile" to which my invention has beenapplied, Fig.2, a sectional elevation of the same, Fig. 3, an enlarged fragmentary section of the body-portion of the vehicle showing the parts. in their cooperative position for the provision of a couch, Fig. 4, an enlarged unction with said seats and without the aid of other parts, a couch adapted to support a fragmentary section along the line i -4:, Fig. 1, showing one of the devices provided front seat of the machine in its normal position, and Fig. 5, a perspective view of the end of the arm which divides the front seat of the machine into two seating spaces, and which secures the members .of the back ofthe same in their normal position. Y

The motor vehicle shown in the drawings 1 has a rear seat 2 at the end of its tonneau,

seat by hinges which permit of their being separately lowered to aposition in horizontal alinement with-the same.

, front of the-seat as at 6, and which at its The seat 3 is divided into two seating spaces by means of a curved arm 5 which at one of its ends is pivotally secured at the opposite end has two downwardly extending pins 7 for'insertion into corresponding the back adj acent; their, adjoining edges.

Patented Feb. 15,1916.

In addition to the curved arm which by I the'means above described, holds the mem.

bers of the back of thef seat in their normal position, I provide spring catches 8 which are operatively mounted'in openings in the sides of the car-body ,t o' normally project.

into" sockets formed in the outer edges of.

the rnembers, as best shown in Fig. {i of the drawings.

The members of the back 4- have at their respective rear sides, Sockets 9 which are preferably formed in the fastening members of the hand railsf 10,;to 'receive the angular ends 12 of supporting" legs-13 which in n, tice are their. lower extremities inserted into openings 14. inth'e floor of the'car body.

The legs are provided above their, end, portions which occupy 'the openings 14:, with integral feet formedby concentric flanges' 15 which by engagement with the floor of the car. limit their downward movement,"and ald'in-providing a stableand rigid support for the, respective member of theback after it has been lowered to the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

When the height of the back ef the front seaficorresponds with the distance between the front and back seats of the vehicleas in the form shown in Fig. 3, its members willf' in their lowered position, provide in conbody in a recumbentposition." If, however, the distance between the seats exceeds the height of the back 4 of the front seat, an ad- I justable contrivance is provided to span the 'space between the front edge of the back seat and the edges ofthe members of the back when they are adjusted to their position in a plane with the seats.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, this form consists of a pair of boards or shelves 16 which are slidably mounted underneath the rear seat of the vehicle to be moved forwardly in adjacency to the edges of the respectige members as is shown in the drawings.

When the automobile is in'ordinary use, the curved arms 5 and the spring catch 8 00-. operate to-maintain'the members of the back of its front seat rigidly in an upright position, the sliding shelves, 16 are concealed beneath the rear seat 2 and the removable legs 13 are stored in vehicle.

To convert the seats into a couch for one person, either of the'members which'conjointly compose the back of the front seat is moved about its hinges until it is l'eveI'WIth both the front and rear seatsand it-is in this 10 position supported upon the fiber iii-the car by means of the legs which are afitnchedqin the manner hereinbefore explained; A

If the height of the back isninsuflicient to span the entire space between-the" seatsfthe corresponding shelf is moved outwardly f until the space between the edge of the back and the front edge of the rear seat isclosed.

To provide adouble couchiboth members of the'back are adjusted in the manner explained and it will thus be seen that by the use of my invention, a single couch may be readily formed at either side of the vehicle,

in which case the arm 5 maintains the upright member of the back in its normal position, and at .the same time divides the 'c'orre sponding seat from the couch, or that the entire bodyof the vehicle may be converted into a double couch when the arm 5 is;turned out of the Way, by moving it about its pivot.

It will. be understood that the means for fastening and supporting the. members of the back as shown and described, may be varied in construction andin their relative.

a convenient place of the I a front-seat, rearward of the latter an justableback which is hinged to be lowered to a position in a plane with said seats, and which hasat its rear side a hand-rail and in arrangement, within the spirit of my invention as set forth in the following claims:

1. A motor-yehlcle having a rear-seat and the fastening thereof,' a normally vacant socket for the attachment of a removable leg, means for maintaining said hack in its nor- ,mal position, and a leg having a part adapted to be removably inserted in said socket, i and a foot to engage the floor of the vehicle.

2. A motor ehicle having a rearseat, a

spacesiand to provide an arm rest for an occupant ofthe seat.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELIZABETH HOW LL;

I Witnesses: i v

' G. J. ROLLANDET, L. RHoAnEs. 

